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This is What Happens When a Shotgun Shell Explodes Outside a Gun

Normally, when a shotgun shell is put to use, obviously it’s being fired down ...

Normally, when a shotgun shell is put to use, obviously it’s being fired down the barrel of a shotgun, using the tight space and length of the barrel to gain momentum and be pushed out by the explosion. What would happen, however, if you were to make a shotgun shell explode without it being in the barrel of a gun? What if you wanted to detonate it while it was simply sitting freely? Would the projectile still work and be able to strike a target with any kind of discernable force or would it simply explode in different directions inflicting no damage?

This time, we check out exactly that as a shell is set up in a controlled environment and a couple of cameras are fixed on it as the guys behind the experiment set it up to try and do damage to a foam head. It’s interesting to see just how much of an effect the gun has on the ammo as the guys attempt to replicate what you’d see in a normal shooting situation. It wouldn’t seem like something that would really be able to work but, who knows? Maybe the experiment will come through with some results that will really sneak up on and surprise us.

Check out the video below that comes to life and attempts to track down some results on the matter with the help of a little bit of slow motion that really allows you to get dialed in on the action as it happened. Were you surprised on the outcome of the shotgun shell blowing up? Did you have any expectations going in as to if this thing would go in one direction or the other? After watching it, there’s definitely no question about how this would go just about every last time.